By Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
New Jersey reported 24 new coronavirus deaths and 565 new cases Tuesday as the rate of transmission increased once again and remains above the key benchmark that indicates the outbreak is expanding after weeks of declines.
“It’s a mixed bag,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday during a press conference on small business grant funding in North Brunswick. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”
The rate of transmission increased to 1.14. When the transmission rate is above 1, it means that each new case leads to more than one additional case. The rate was 1.09 on Monday after falling below 1 over the weekend to .84 on Sunday.
The 565 new cases is the most reported in a single day so far this month and the third time in four days that number was above 500. New Jersey health officials reported 547 cases Saturday, 512 Sunday and 446 Monday. Murphy has cautioned that the rise in new cases could reflect a backlog from last week in getting test results processed and counted.
The latest update pushes the total number of cases to 180,295 and the total known confirmed and probable deaths to 15,825. That includes 13,905 lab confirmed deaths and 1,920 considered likely caused by COVID-19.
The number of patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases at New Jersey’s hospitals increased slightly as of Monday night to 718. That includes 50 patients on ventilators and 112 in intensive or critical care. New Jersey had more than 8,000 patients at the state’s 71 hospitals at the peak in mid-April.
Murphy cited the recent reports of massive mansion house parties and other case clusters among young people as concerning issues as the case numbers increase.
New Jersey also expanded its coronavirus quarantine travel advisory on Tuesday to include 34 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. That’s up from 31 states last week.
COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS
Atlantic County: 3,297 cases (31 new), 227 confirmed deaths (15 probable)
Bergen County: 20,341 cases (48 new), 1,783 confirmed deaths (263 probable)
Burlington County: 5,684 cases (44 new), 430 confirmed deaths (41 probable)
Camden County: 8,167 cases (45 new), 514 confirmed deaths (55 probable)
Cape May County: 800 cases (6 new), 81 confirmed deaths (5 probable)
Cumberland County: 3,166 cases (23 new), 143 confirmed deaths (13 probable)
Essex County: 19,376 cases (42 new), 1,856 confirmed deaths (247 probable)
Gloucester County: 2,999 cases (14 new), 196 confirmed deaths (7 probable)
Hudson County: 19,399 cases (22 new), 1,330 confirmed deaths (175 probable)
Hunterdon County: 1,123 cases (2 new), 70 confirmed deaths (56 probable)
Mercer County: 7,966 cases (30 new), 569 confirmed deaths (43 probable)
Middlesex County: 17,580 cases (36 new), 1,196 confirmed deaths (212 probable)
Monmouth County: 9,947 cases (44 new), 756 confirmed deaths (100 probable)
Morris County: 7,091 cases (17 new), 676 confirmed deaths (153 probable)
Ocean County: 10,293 cases (57 new), 942 confirmed deaths (70 probable)
Passaic County: 17,348 cases (24 new), 1,090 confirmed deaths (156 probable)
Salem County: 866 cases (7 new), 78 confirmed deaths (5 probable)
Somerset County: 5,155 cases (18 new), 480 confirmed deaths (78 probable)
Sussex County: 1,286 cases (2 new), 158 confirmed deaths (37 probable)
Union County: 16,410 cases (31 new), 1,174 confirmed deaths (175 probable)
Warren County: 1,321 cases (5 new), 156 confirmed deaths (14 probable)
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
The rate of transmission jumped back above the key benchmark of 1 Monday. While day-to-day fluctuations aren’t cause for too much alarm, the rate of transmission, or Rt, is used as a key metric to decide whether to reopen more businesses in the state.
“We’re monitoring this every single day and again, day-to-day fluctuations, we don’t go totally crazy,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Christina Tan said Monday. “Again, we look at several different metrics, the cases, the positivity, the syndrome and surveillance, and they’re — those three metrics are very highly correlated, actually. And we haven’t seen anything unusual, but we certainly echo the message about not being complacent.”
An increase in the transmission rate above 1 earlier this month, causing Murphy to pause the state’s reopening plans, which are currently in Phase 2.
A new poll, meanwhile, showed two-thirds of New Jerseyans favor keeping restrictions in place until a vaccine or treatment is available, according to Fairleigh Dickinson University. Only 29% of people surveyed said they want a return to normal despite the risks.
Republicans were the only demographic where a majority (53%) said they support a return to normal life over restrictions, according to the poll.
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